"Your Rin is indeed still alive."
"She was resurrected by me."
Hearing this, tears slid down from the corners of Obito's eyes.
Gento walked directly in front of Obito and reached out his hand.
"Ahhh!"
Obito let out a miserable shriek.
His Mangekyo Sharingan had already been removed and put away by Gento.
Gento did not look at him again, turning around to let his gaze sweep across everything in the base.
Next, it was time to harvest the spoils of war.
Nagato's Six Paths of Pain stood motionless in various corners of the base.
Deva, Human, Asura, Animal, Preta, and Naraka.
Every single body was pierced with black chakra receivers, expressionless with hollow eyes.
Because Gento's attack was too sudden, Nagato lost his Rinnegan before he even had time to control them to counterattack.
Now, these six puppets had become ownerless objects.
Gento walked up to Deva Path Pain, sizing up this body that had once struck terror into the entire shinobi world.
Deva Path Pain possessed the abilities of the Rinnegan, capable of casting Shinra Tensei, Universal Pull, and Chibaku Tensei.
Gento suddenly had a thought.
Since he himself possessed the Rinnegan, he could naturally control these six puppets as well.
In that case, why not directly disguise himself as Pain and take over the Akatsuki?
When the time came, certain dirty work that was inconvenient for the Hidden Gento Village to perform could be entirely left to the members of the Akatsuki to handle.
The Akatsuki still had Kakuzu, Deidara, Sasori, Kisame, and the others, who were all rare and valuable combat assets.
Having them continue to operate under the name of the Akatsuki would not only conceal the true intentions of the Hidden Gento Village but also reserve strength for confronting the Otsutsuki.
He raised his hand, the dojutsu power of the Rinnegan surging out as invisible threads of chakra extended from his fingertips, connecting to the black chakra receivers of the Six Paths of Pain.
The six puppets raised their heads simultaneously, a pale purple light lighting up inside their hollow eye sockets.
"From this day on, you are mine."
A smile appeared on Gento's lips as he stored the six puppets into the Yomotsu space.
Just as the Six Paths of Pain were put away, a sudden turn of events occurred on the battlefield.
A dark shadow suddenly shot out from Obito's body, moving at extreme speed, attempting to burrow into the ground to escape.
Gento was quick to react, the dojutsu power of his Rinnegan exploding outward.
"Universal Pull!"
An invisible gravitational force firmly gripped the dark shadow, dragging it back.
Looking closely, Gento saw that it was a puddle of black substance, like a liquid shadow, continuously writhing and struggling.
A blurry human face occasionally surfaced on its exterior, its features twisted as if in anger, or perhaps in fear.
It was none other than the third son of Kaguya Otsutsuki, Black Zetsu.
Gento unsheathed a kunai from his waist, pointing the razor-sharp edge at Black Zetsu as he slowly approached.
Sensing that icy killing intent, Black Zetsu struggled even more violently but could not break free from the shackles of the gravity.
Seeing the kunai getting closer and closer, Black Zetsu hastily screamed:
"No! Gento Uchiha, you cannot kill me!"
"I am Madara Uchiha's will clone!"
"I also know many secrets of the shinobi world!"
Gento stopped his movements, feigning ignorance as he raised an eyebrow:
"Oh? Madara Uchiha still has a will clone left in this world?"
Seeing that its trick was working, Black Zetsu rejoiced inwardly and hurriedly spoke:
"Of course! Lord Madara Uchiha, just like you, awakened the Rinnegan on his own."
"The will clone is precisely an ability of his Rinnegan."
"I carry a portion of Lord Madara's memories and wisdom; I am the backup plan he left behind in this world."
"If you kill me, it will be a massive loss for you!"
Hearing this, Gento found it somewhat amusing in secret.
He naturally knew that the dojutsu of Madara Uchiha's Rinnegan was Limbo: Hengoku.
However, he still put on a thoughtful expression, lowering the kunai in his hand slightly.
He pondered for a moment, then said:
"Words alone are no proof. I must ask you about a few secrets of the shinobi world. If you can answer them, then it will indeed prove that you are Madara Uchiha's will clone. What do you say?"
Black Zetsu's eyes rolled around.
As an existence that had lived from the ancient times of the shinobi world to the present, witnessing the birth of the Sage of Six Paths, the sealing of Kaguya, the founding of Ninshu, the slaughter of the Warring States Period...
What secrets could there possibly be in the current shinobi world that it did not know?
Thus, it declared with outright confidence:
"Go ahead and ask, I can definitely answer!"
A smile appeared on Gento's lips as he spoke:
"Do you know of the Otsutsuki clan?"
The originally confident Black Zetsu stiffened completely upon hearing these words.
"The... Otsutsuki?"
Its very voice was trembling.
"Where... where did you hear that from?"
Gento did not answer, staring at Black Zetsu with an unfriendly expression, as his tone turned cold:
"Hmm? What's the matter, you don't know?"
Sensing the hint of danger in the way Gento was sizing it up, Black Zetsu shuddered instantly and hurriedly said:
"I know! Of course I know!"
"The Otsutsuki clan... seems to be a mysterious clan from beyond the heavens."
"Lord Madara also investigated relevant information back then."
Gento nodded, put away the kunai, crossed his arms, and continued:
"I heard that this clan is extremely powerful and can easily destroy the shinobi world. Do you know if this is true?"
Black Zetsu feigned remembering, thinking frantically.
A moment later, a scheme came to its mind, and it spoke to Gento:
"Of course it's true!"
"The Otsutsuki clan wants to wipe out the shinobi world; they are absolutely evil!"
"However, I happen to have a way to resist the Otsutsuki. Do you want to hear it?"
Hearing this, Gento immediately wore a look of interest, leaning his body forward:
"Oh? Do tell!"
Black Zetsu, however, stopped speaking.
It coughed twice first, indicating that it was still bound right now and unable to move.
Gento wore a look of sudden realization, slapping his forehead:
"Ah, my apologies for being inconsiderate."
He immediately released the gravitational bind, setting Black Zetsu on the ground.
Having regained its freedom, Black Zetsu writhed its body slightly, stretching for a moment before slowly speaking:
"This method, rather than being my method, is more accurate to call Lord Madara Uchiha's method."
"After the old lord discovered the conspiracy of the Otsutsuki clan, he pondered countermeasures."
"Finally, Lord Madara Uchiha devised a powerful ninjutsu called Infinite Tsukuyomi. As long as this ninjutsu is activated, we can oppose the Otsutsuki clan!"
A look of surprise immediately appeared in Gento's eyes, and he pressed further:
"Oh? Such a ninjutsu actually exists in this world?"
Hearing that Gento believed it, Black Zetsu immediately doubled down, its tone carrying a hint of beguiling enticement:
"Of course! The Infinite Tsukuyomi can project one's dojutsu power onto the moon, casting a genjutsu over the entire world."
"Everyone can realize their dreams within the genjutsu, attaining eternal peace."
"At the same time, the people controlled by the genjutsu will gradually be transformed by the Divine Tree into White Zetsu, becoming soldiers to combat the Otsutsuki."
"This is Lord Madara's plan!"
Gento nodded as if in deep thought, then suddenly shifted the topic:
"Then why didn't Lord Madara use this ninjutsu himself?"
Black Zetsu's smile froze, but it recovered a moment after, as he explained:
"Lord Madara originally intended to cast it, but the casting of the Infinite Tsukuyomi requires gathering the power of all nine Tailed Beasts."
"The foolish Hashirama Senju, however, distributed the nine Tailed Beasts to the various major shinobi villages, causing them to be scattered everywhere. That is what led to the falling out between the two."
"Before Lord Madara passed away, he instructed me to collect the nine Tailed Beasts."
"But now that the nine Tailed Beasts are in your hands, it is all the same."
Gento nodded, a smile appearing on his face:
"Indeed."
Black Zetsu grew excited too, urgency creeping into its voice:
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's hurry to the Hidden Gento Village, extract those three Tailed Beasts as well, gather all nine, and cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi!"
It could not wait any longer.
As long as Gento activated the Infinite Tsukuyomi, it could seize the opportunity to resurrect its mother, Kaguya!
---
If you want to support, please consider Patreon and read advanced chapters! Your support keeps this series going! [Patreon.com/RedZTL]